Esports, short for “electronic sports” transforms online gaming into a spectator sport. The experience is similar to watching a professional sporting event, except that instead of watching a physical event, spectators watch video gamers compete against each other in a virtual environment. Just as traditional sports fans enjoy watching top athletes perform at the top of their craft, the same is true of those who watch top video gamers compete. This industry includes not only traditional sports-related games like NBA2K and FIFA, but also—and more notably—games such as League of Legends, Counter-Strike, and Dota.

Esports is also unique in that a player’s success is independent of how tall, strong, thin, or fast they are. Though there is certainly valuable insight linking good physical health to enhanced gamer performance, it is ultimately inconsequential whether the gamer stands at 5’2 or 6’8 tall. They can both excel at the highest levels of League of Legends, CS:GO, Dota 2, or any other game. Esports can further level the playing field for factors such as gender, culture, and location. This democratization of participation contributes to esports’ allure and its generation of a globally engaged fan base.

Individual players can either stream themselves playing to earn money or join larger organizations to compete for large cash prizes. The players can engage with their fans in a variety of ways including social media, live-streaming platforms, and in-person at tournaments. On the other side, fans can watch and follow their favorite teams compete in regional and global tournaments. Many technology platforms, services, events, analytics platforms, and substantial investor capital surrounds this ecosystem as it continues to grow.

The popular esports genres include multiplayer online battle arenas (where a player controlling a single character in a team that must destroy the opposing team’s main building), real-time strategy (where a player builds an army to gain dominance over a map), or first-person shooter games (where players take part in a firefight across a map).

Becoming a top esports player is no simple achievement. To rise through the ranks, players specialize in a specific game, developing their skills through extensive, competitive play. Some even train up to 14 hours a day to hone quick reflexes and multi-tasking abilities.

Gamers who livestream themselves as they play video games are referred to as “streamers.” This is typically done in casual play.

1. Streaming, 2. Playing Professionally - Professional players join teams (in multi-player games) or play solo (in 1v1 games) to compete for cash prizes. Each team specializes and competes in one specific game, such as League of Legends, Dota, or Counter-Strike. Perhaps unsurprisingly, prize money for the largest tournaments can be enormous. Total prize money in 2016 reached $93.3 million, up from $61.0 million in 2015 and a far cry from $5.2 million in 2010.

While streaming can be incredibly profitable, many streamers have to decide whether they want to stream for a living or try and play professionally and run the risk of making less money. With that said, not all streamers have the skill to play professionally. Instead, some simply have “streaming personalities” that viewers find entertaining to follow, donate to, and subscribe to. This can create impressive revenue streams for the most successful. For example, the most popular YouTube channel in the world belongs to a video game streamer who goes by the name of “PewDiePie.” He has such a polarizing style that viewers often find him either “highly delightful or incredibly annoying"

Top players often start professionally around age 16 or 17, and then tend to retire around age 24. Of course, there is variation across different games and publishers, but esports professionals generally start and end their careers much earlier than the average professional athlete. Retired esports professionals may opt to stream themselves, coach esports teams, start their own team, work for publishers, or finish their involvement with esports.

The best esports teams are recruited to be a part of organizations, and might have several teams that specialize in their respective Video/PC/Console games but operate under the same name —just as an college or university competes in Cricket, football, basketball, and hockey all under the same umbrella organization (the college or university). It’s helpful to think of an organization as an elite conglomerate of the teams playing a variety of video games. A few of the games are 1v1 while others are team based and involve two squads competing against each other.

Today, esports’ largest tournaments are nearly as large as traditional sporting events. High profile players and teams, will attract sponsorships with Brands, Game Developers, Broadcasters, and Media. Which will give them access to additional revenue streams outside of Tournament Cash Prizes.

The eSports Hub or Gaming Cafe or iCafe (as we call them in India) or PC Bang (famous in Korea), is a room full of high-end computers where people from all different ages and genders, come to play computer games. It is one of the most popular places to meet up with your friends and play games online! Computer games are immensely popular – more than anywhere else in the world.

For a game to work well on a computer, you need a high-performance computer that works faster than a regular computer used in offices and homes. As a result you might need invest a lot in the computer equipment and network systems like Broadband Internet or Fiber Connection. So in order to enjoy the game to the fullest, they can visit a PC Gaming Cafe instead of investing the money into your own computers at home.

Gaming Cafe's especially the Rebellion eSports Cafe's are very different from the average Internet cafe in India. The most important thing is that the Rebellion eSports Gaming Cafe's are designed around gaming. Users in a Rebellion eSports Gaming Cafe will log in to a variety of online, multiplayer games, connected to the high-speed Internet, and begin playing. The Rebellion eSports Gaming Cafe pretty much has everything that a person needs for survival during the intense gaming session. It has high-end computers, comfortable seats, an abundance of food, bathrooms and the fast internet speeds. In addition, the monitors and keyboards are specifically for gaming. It is a perf3ect place for friends sit together and play games against other teams or compete with one another. You can also even order food straight from the computer, that will be served directly to your seat. Talk about convenience!